I am one of the parents whose child attends Kinloss Primary, and on the 10th of May, I received a phone call no parent wants to receive, to be told my son had been hit by a car travelling too fast along the road outside the school. Luckily, due to another mother’s quick reactions pulling my son backwards, he was saved from serious injury. As his mum, it has caused a rush of emotions: sadness, fear, but most of all great concern not just for his safety but for other children. I am aware the safety of children along this road has been brought up on numerous occasions by other concerned parties, however, even though there have been many close calls, nothing has done about this issue.

Due to the sheer volume of children and parents leaving the school grounds onto the small footpath next to the main road with no safe place to cross, this can cause a great deal of congestion on the footpath and many children have had close calls along this stretch. I do understand that the motorists are not always at fault, and it is important to ensure all children are educated thoroughly on road safety. However, this road has a 30MPH speed limit and a 20MPH limit during busy school times. This falls on deaf ears and drivers very seldom acknowledge this limit. For example, earlier this year a motorist was caught at 51MPH along this stretch of road. 

It truly breaks my heart to think about the outcome had the other mother not been there to save him, I do not wish for any other parent to experience the fear of hearing that news or for any child to end up with serious injuries or worse. I understand the financial issues Moray council faced that forced the cutbacks, however, I feel that they cut back a crucial part of children’s safety along main roads such as this one, and I and the other parents at the school are willing to fight to help them be reinstated. If this is not possible other safety measures need to be considered such as railings along the path or a pedestrian crossing outside the school. Taking away the only safety measures the children had for crossing the busy road has caused serious concern and is a hazard that needs to be taken into serious consideration, with your help I really hope we can fix this issue before it happens again with a more serious outcome.

Many thanks, 

Rebecca